Can You File a Lawsuit for a Slip and Fall at a Store?

Los Angeles Slip and Fall Attorney

Falling or slipping can be dangerous, especially for elderly people because their bones tend to be more fragile. You can eliminate all the hazards in your home, but preventing such accidents from occurring at places other than your house are almost impossible.

People can suffer falls at the supermarket, convenience store, or grocery store often, unfortunately. If your loved one has suffered harm due to the negligence of the store owners, you can file a lawsuit against them. Here is what you should know regarding such lawsuits.

Laws regarding slip-and-fall

It is mandatory for store owners to keep their property safe and warn customers if there is any danger on the premises. According to the California Civil Code, an individual is responsible for all willful acts if they harm others, including negligence. If a person is injured while they were on someone’s property, a suit can be filed where the property owner did not take ordinary diligence to ensure safety for patrons.

Therefore, if a person is harmed on the property of another person, they may file a premises liability suit to obtain compensation for the injuries and financial losses.

Factors to consider for filing a slip-and-fall lawsuit

Slip and fall incidences usually arise at shopping stores due to the presence of a wet floor.

If the store owner did learn about the wet floor or if the employees passed that area but no action was taken to ensure customer safety, then it could give a very strong legal claim to you if you fell and suffered harm.

Securing video as evidence

If the store has any security cameras installed, they can be used to find out how the incident actually happened and if anyone was at fault or not.

While there are times when video footage leads to a successful claim, there are also cases where actually no one is at fault. If you have gone through the video footage and did find negligence of the store owner or employees, you should file a claim against them.

Medical payments coverage

If slip-and-fall incident ever occurs, regardless of who was at fault, the victim can be compensated by “medical payment coverage.” Most of the property insurance policies cover this component under liability coverage.

You can get medical payments coverage by contacting the insurance company of the store. To get this coverage you will not have to file any extensive claims. You should speak with a Los Angeles slip and fall attorney before you do anything, however. A skilled lawyer will know exactly how to proceed if you become injured.

Here are some things you should do if you or your loved one got in such an incident:

Contact a trial lawyer — this will help in evaluating of all facts for filing the claim.

In the interim, instruct the store owner/manager to conserve any video of the incident

Record your injuries by taking photographs of them

Don’t ruin any evidence — the shoes that were worn at the time of the incident should not be cleaned or used, for example.

Speak with a personal injury attorney in Los Angeles as soon as you or a loved one are injured to get the legal advice you need. We can fight hard to recover the compensation you deserve after being wrongfully injured.